Freelancing Tips to Consider Before Quitting Your Job (Part 2) - Hallie Crawford

Freelancing Tips to Consider Before Quitting Your Job (Part 2) Hallie was honored to be featured in a recent Glamour.com article about things to consider before quitting your office job to freelance. As a follow up to this article, we wanted to share some additional tips with you. To be a successful freelancer implies a lot of work. You have to be disciplined to stay focused on work versus things around the house drawing your attention. You must take initiative to grab new accounts or clients and do a lot of marketing to secure that work. Many times freelancers have to work harder than the average employee at a company because they are a one-man show. Aside from deciding if you have the right strengths to be a successful freelancer, here are a few other things you should consider: Taxes. When you work for a company, your employer pays for a portion of your social security and Medicare taxes. When you work for yourself, you have to cover 100% of those taxes. To keep this from surprising you at the end of the year or from paying the IRS extra fees, you can pay estimated quarterly taxes. Or, especially if you are just starting out, you can just make sure and set aside a portion of your income to make sure you have the cash to cover the taxes at the end of the year. This requires discipline since it can be tempting to tap into your tax fund. Try keeping the money in a different account so you will be less likely to use it. No benefits. When you work for an employer, you might get extra perks like a bonus or paid time off. When you are a freelancer, it generally means giving up those kinds of perks. When deciding if you should become a full-time freelancer its important to analyze your current work situation and lifestyle to see if you could really do without your current job perks. Multiple clients. If you are thinking of being a full-time freelancer, many times this entails having multiple clients or projects at a time.Its important to keep accurate records of what you are working on. To do this you have to make sure you can organize your schedule and different projects so that you dont miss a deadline. While these things shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dream career, make sure that you are prepared in advance for these possible roadblocks and have a plan for them.

The Benefits of Resume Cheat Sheets

The Benefits of Resume Cheat SheetsIf you're looking for a new job, a resume cheat sheet is a must-have when you create and revise your CV. It will save you time, improve your chances of landing the job and also keep you on track with your job search.A resume is a document that tells what you do, how long you've been working for the company and other things about you. Writing a resume is not easy and hiring professionals are constantly seeking ways to improve their resume writing skills. They find out that writing a resume means a lot more than writing it. You need to have an organized and concise message and then you need to get it right, not just the words that appear on the paper.There are hundreds of resume template packages available online and some are really great, but you need to make sure that you know how to use them and that they're appropriate for your resume. This can be tricky and you don't want to end up wasting money on a package that doesn't work for you. Resume chea t sheets are the answer to all your worries.What these tools do is give you a guide to make sure that you're writing your resume in the most effective way possible. They'll also help you write better resumes and also save you time in the process. Let's see how they can do that.Let's take a look at how these programs work. In short, they will help you organize and arrange the information on your resume so that it is easy to read and understand. Most of these programs will provide templates that you can use. They also have a whole bunch of tips on writing a resume that will make it even easier for you.What I like about them better than anything else is that they not only come with templates, but also with tips to improve your resume. The templates are perfect for first time writers. In addition, they provide you with different versions of resumes to choose from. Some programs also offer sample resumes that you can use to test and see which one works best for you.What's important is th at you learn how to organize your resume in the right way and when you're ready you can use these programs to easily write a great resume. It's a much easier process than trying to organize it by yourself.

What the In-Crowd Wont Tell You About Resume Summary Section

What the In-Crowd Won't Tell You About Resume Summary Section Up in Arms About Resume Summary Section? Additionally, you might be requested to complete entry forms to accompany your resume. There are a couple unique forms of skill sections and formatting options which you should think about when crafting your resume. Indeed, in the majority of scenarios, a resume objective as a result of its nature is regarded as a section that brings no valuable info to recruiters. No matter your degree of work experience, your resume format is crucial to making your application stick out. Irrespective of where you include your computer section on your resume, you can be certain that the hiring manager is likely to find it best definitely likely to ask about doing it. Short on details, it's a teasing list of assertions of what you could do and what you could provide the business. Employing clickable links makes it increasingly probable that a recruiter or hiring manager will see the extra details about you. This information will be able to help you design a resume that may find any hiring managers attention. Why Almost Everything You've Learned About Resume Summary Section Is Wrong A compelling profile is the secret to your career or company success. Developing a business plan for startup company is a very simple procedure you could undertake step-by-step to do. The absolute most efficient summaries target one career objective. Focus on Your Goal they are targeted on one career goal. Job seekers should have several professionals review their resume before they begin using it. A Resume Summary is your opportunity to truly shine. Writing information like examples of the job which you were doing in the preceding companies allow you to compose a great creative resume. You should learn how to earn a quick resume so that you can begin applying for jobs. Make certain it's tailored to not merely the position, but the provider also. There are a lot of hotel, res taurant and recreational jobs out there. All the information ought to be highly related to the position that you'd like. Therefore resume objectives definitely will differ based on the sector in which you are looking for job. Resume Summary Section - the Conspiracy If you do decide to move forward with a resume summary statement, be sure to take care of it as your own private highlight reel. A resume summary may be known as an executive summary, particularly for upper-level positions. Now as you know the length of time your summary ought to be you can become down to drafting one. You may want to look at a qualifications summary which we outlined in last week's postbut if you simply need to have a summaryhere are a number of examples to help you begin. Choosing Resume Summary Section Is Simple A hiring manager will be searching for skills which are the absolute most relevant to the job accessible. Keep in mind your resume is the one which can make or break your likelihood of selecting the job. Keep in mind, the resume itself isn't sufficient to land you a work and therefore don't rely on it. It's not sufficient to secure you a job. Best that you have all of the tools you should craft the ideal skills section, samples one of our free templates and get going on your resume! The exact first page of your resume is believed to be the most significant. Rather than that, you pay whenever you use a template. If you think that you won't will need to create work application template then you might want to read further to ascertain why precisely you must learn how to compose a resume.

How to be your own boss

How to be your own bossIf youve ever had a job with a boss, youve probably had at least one of these thoughts at some point, especially on frustrating days googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) I could be the boss, and do it better.Why dont I do that?And there are a few different ways to do that. One is to rise through the ranks, being a rockstar and getting promoted until get to that place where youre in charge (though youll likely still be accountable to some level of management no matter what). The other way, the true independence route, is to say goodbye to working for others, and go into geschftliches miteinander for yourself. Its bedrngnislage the easiest career path, or for everyone, but if this is truly your goal then we can help you figure out how to get started.Are you truly ready?Being your own boss sounds great, but if youre not in a personal space where youre mature or capable enough (yet) to handle the potentially large demands o f running your own geschftlicher umgang, its important to be honest about that up front. Management consultant Steve Tobak recommends starting with an honest assessment of how you are as an employee to landsee how well you might function in a situation where youre depending on yourself to get everything done. For example, people who focus on responsibilities over branding and who seek achievements over power will likely be mora successful when it comes time to assume responsibility for every aspect of a business. If youre seeking to become your own boss just to be a boss (and not necessarily to take on additional responsibility), then this career change might not be the right move for you right now.It comes down to your personal temperament as well. If you do better when given a particular set of goals and benchmarks by someone else, you might struggle a bit when you need to generate those yourself. Or if you struggle with discipline and keeping on task during the workday, theres a risk that the lack of outside constraints may feed your worst tendencies to procrastinate. Definitely ask yourself questions likeHow do I respond to high-pressure situations?Do I get angry or upset easily?How effectively do I organize my to-do list and manage my time?How do I set boundaries in my life between work and personal space?Creating your own business requires a lot of honesty about your goals and your reality, as well as a lot of good old-fashioned hustle, since you dont have the framework of an established company to handle things for you. Youre about to be the boss, but youre also about to be menschengerecht Resources, the CFO, the IT department, and the one on the hook for every business decision. If that level of responsibility makes you a little queasy at this point, then maybe its best to table the idea for now and revisit in the future. But if youre still thinking bring it, its time to start formulating your business plan.Design a plan.Your next step should be decidi ng explicitly what it is youll be doing in your entrepreneurial business. Branding is great, but it comes later. The core business has to come first, so a solid plan is essential in making the decision to go rogue. Ask yourself these questionsWhat kind of service or product are you providing?Who will be your customers?What are you promising to those customers?What sets you apart from potentially similar vendors competing for the same customers?What are your short- and long-term goals for the business?What strategies do you have to achieve those goals?If you need help coming up with a business plan, there are a number of free and premium services online that can help you craft it, like LivePlan or Microsofts Dynamics 365. Every new business is a leap of faith, but you put yourself in a better position with the mora information you have about your target audience, your market, and how you plan to develop your business based on the market.Do a test run.Before you take the leap, think a bout doing a soft launch by creating your business as a side hustle, or a part-time commitment. This is a way of figuring out if this is the right path for you before youve committed fully to the idea of ditching your current path for the new one. Plus, it lets you start building a customer base and getting a real sense of what the market is really likeinformation that will be invaluable when you get to planning to do this full-time. Take a set amount of time to work on your business part-time, and then re-evaluate whether it makes sense to take it full-time. Sure, youll be in for a busy few months while youre working on both, but consider it an essential research process to test the viability of your plan.Consider the money.Before you do anything drastic like quitting your current job, its important to do your homework on some baseline financial issues. Finances are an incredibly important consideration hereafter all, this is your livelihood. And youll be the one writing the payche cks, so theres not a lot of room for error here if you want to be able to keep your personal finances afloat. Gather your personal financial records and your favorite calculator, because its time to answer some brutally honest questionsAre there startup costs associated with your business idea? Will you need to buy specialized equipment or technology? Will you need to buy or rent a workspace? How much money would you need to have up front just to get started?What are the week-to-week operating costs?How long are you able to go without a paycheck, if your business is slow to develop? Do you have enough savings to get you by?Will you need to hire employees or contractors, or will it just be you? If its the latter, what can you afford to pay them?It may be that after your financial analysis, you find you arent quite ready to quit your job and go it alone just yet. And thats okayit gives you more time to plan, set goals, and lay the groundwork for your business. Whats not quite right fo r now be much more viable in a year or two.Decide whos on your team.Another essential element is your support network. Your company may be just you at first, and thats a lot of pressure. What friends or family do you have in place to help provide a balance for that? Do you have people you trust who can listen to you and help you talk through decisions and provide valuable feedback?You should also start building your network in general, both using online social networks like LinkedIn and joining professional associations in your field. There are also organizations that specifically support small business owners, so you should do a little digging online to see if there are any specific to your field or your state/city/town.Build your brand.Self-marketing is going to be one of the best tools you have at your disposal as you get started with a new business. Creating dedicated social media profiles (apart from your personal ones) on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and whatever-pl atform-comes-next is a no-brainer. And make sure you stay engaged in those accounts, posting new content and updating the world on your achievements, expertise, and services.Youll also need a websiteideally, one designed professionally. There are lots of hosting services that also help you build your sleek, functional site. This is not a job for your cousins friends roommate who wants to test out his design skills. Once you have your own URL and platform, you can use a blog, photo gallery, portfolio, and email to do outreach to potential customers.Get ready to make the transition.This is not the time for burning bridges, so you need to think about a careful transition from your current job to your entrepreneurship. This is especially true if your new company will be in the same field. People talk, and other people who make ugly exits will be talked about. No matter how disgruntled you may be in your current gig, its important to exit gracefully. That means figuring out a timetable f or quitting (potentially more than the standard two weeks) to figure out how to disentangle from your job. You may also want to consider asking your current boss if you can go part-time for a transition period. If thats not an option, then a traditional exit is fine. Youll need to give notice, and write a resignation letter. You dont have to explicitly say what youre doing nextpursuing new opportunities covers it.During this transition period, you should also see if theres any fine print in your employment contract about pursuing clients or competitive job opportunities. Some companies have a non-compete clause that tries to limit what former employees can do in the same field.So what do you think? Are you ready to make the transition from employee to boss? Or if not right now, is it something you can see in the near-ish future? We wish you all the best, entrepreneurs, and would love to hear whats worked for you (and what hasnt) in pursuit of being your own boss.

Is Your Life On Track 3 Questions to Ask Yourself at 30, 40 and 50 to Find Out

Is Your Life On Track 3 Questions to Ask Yourself at 30, 40 and 50 to Find Out As the saying goes, life is what happens when youre busy making otzu sich plans. Its easy to get off course. Just as life evolves, so too should the questions you ask yourself to make sure youre on track to live the life you want.Whenever youre approaching a new decade (or even more frequently), see it as an opportunity to check in with yourself. The following questions arent always the fruchtwein comfortable to sit with, but avoiding them can lead to a disconnect between where you are and where you want to be.Questions to ask yourself at 301. Where do I want to be now, next year, and in five years?Your 20s are a time for learning and testing things out. As a 30 year old, you should have gained experience traveling down multiple areas of life to help determine what is the best fit for you. Though your answers may shift as you continue to accumulate knowledge and experiences, establishing a game plan will h elp see a solid plan that you can modify as needed.2. What steps am I taking to achieve my goals?Have a solid plan in place and make sure that you are taking actionable steps toward the goals youve laid out for yourself. If your goal is to retire at age 60, are your monthly retirement plan contributions making this dream feasible? If youve created a bucket list of countries you want to visit, are you booking flights and scheduling time off? Lay the groundwork so the moves you make throughout your thirties are in service of ansicht goals.3. How can I avoid repeating past mistakes?Life is all about trial and error. Evaluate areas of your life where you wish youd done things differently and actively work to make different choices. You dont have to dwell in the space of regret, but take time to let the lessons youve learned sink in. This will help keep you on course to make choices that are better for you down the road.Questions to ask yourself at 401. What brings me the most joy?Throug hout your 30s, enjoying new experiences can show you what areas of your life you want to continue leaning into and where you want to take a step back. Taking an honest inventory of what moments have been the most fulfilling can help you choose where you expend your energy.2. How did I accomplish my largest successes?If insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting different results, then when you want the same results, study what you did to get those results and keep doing it. Run through why certain plans worked out and keep following that line of thinking. You will likely be able to transfer the skill set into other areas of your life as well and stay on track.3. When will I make my next move?Knowing not only what you want to do but when you want to execute it is crucial. Early in your career, you can gain a sense that everything has to happen immediately. The sense of urgency can be daunting. After having time to gain perspective, you can better plan out what you want to do. Enjoying the comforts of what youve accumulated so far and striving to earn more is a delicate balance. You need to decide what really works for you and when to strike.Questions to ask yourself at 501. What skills do I need to refine?After accumulating many skills and life experience, its important to never stop learning.Being in the workforce means that you want to keep skills sharp. Technology is constantly advancing, and you should advance with it. Stay up-to-date on how things have changed in the fields you work in professionally and personally.2. How am I sharing my knowledge?Creating a stream of information is important to share with other people. If you are working towards a specific way to work. Sharing what you know whether personal or professional can be a great way to keep working towards the goals you have for yourself. Reaching out to others can enrich your life and shine light on what areas you want to continue to focus on.3. Who do I turn to for guidance?While its co mmon to seek out mentorship when first beginning your career,having a steady source of support is still important as life goes on.Having a person who can give you advice and listen to you as you make choices to navigate new choices in your life can be a major help.--Kayla Heisler is an essayist and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. She is an MFA candidate at Columbia University, and her work appears in New Yorks Best Emerging Poets 2017 anthology.

The Incredible Details About Writing a Normal Resume Indie Game Dev That Many People are not Aware Of

The Incredible Details About Writing a Normal Resume Indie Game Dev That Many People are not Aware Of Writing a Normal Resume Indie Game Dev at a Glance Its great for people that feel theyre not skilled enough to finish a particular game, or for non-gamers who are merely interested in the story, music, or art. Nintendo is a little cagey on what its on the lookout for. Each one takes a different strategy and what works for one wont do the job for a different. If you would like to sell and generate income by making games, you are aware that writing your own engine will take lots of time. Speaking of unique, the principal aim of your resume is to make you stick out from the remainder of the folks applying for the exact saatkorn job and another means to create that happen is to use action verbs and power words (also known as resume verbs). It is imperative to summarize the range of years that youve been practicing your profession and include it in the resume. No matter your degre e of work knowledge, your resume structure is crucial to making your application stick out. Regardless of your level of job practical knowledge, it is crucial to making your program stand out. The point is to not only emphasize the skills you have that relate to the job that youre applying to, but in addition provide your prospective employer with a chronological record of the jobs youve held before. You need to keep this in mind too. Well, regardless of what stage youre in your career, youre likely to should understand how to make a resume for a job interview and we are likely to explain to you how Your job (while youre attempting to find a job) is to be certain to fit what theyre searching for. What You Dont Know About Writing a Normal Resume Indie Game Dev There are two kinds of font. The bewegungsknstler in the aforementioned instance isnt alone. One of the greatest regions to get resume examples is online, since there are lots of websites offering templates an individu al may download and use. As a way to use a resume to compose a CV, it is very important to acquire several examples that possess the relevant information. Wherever you chance to live at this time, you are going to want to think about moving to a video game development hotbed. Lets look at the very top game dev cities in the top game dev countries on earth. If you wish to develop a Switch game, you will need to know Unity. Writers fill numerous roles within the video game market.

Tips for New College Grads Who Are Nervous About Landing a Job

Tips for New College Grads Who Are Nervous About Landing a JobTips for New College Grads Who Are Nervous About Landing a JobDoes the thought of securing your first real job put the same pit in your stomach as a calculus final? Youre not alone- this major life event fills most new grads with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Fortunately, calming those nerves involves using many of the same skills that got you through college.Employ these strategies for new college grads to reduce anxiety and start your career journey with confidenceGet organized.A job hunt is similar to writing a term paper. At first, the task feels overwhelming. But when you break it down into manageable chunks, the prospect no longer seems as scary.Organize your job search by blocking out time to truly focus. Make daily to-do lists spelling out what youd like to accomplish, such as revising a titel letter, sending out three applications, and spending a half hour on LinkedIn exploring connections. Consistency yields results and promotes sanity.Prepare for interviews.This may sound like a no-brainer, but doing homework pays off.Be knowledgeable, says Vicky Oliver, author of 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions. Learn everything you can about the company. Just amassing the knowledge will give you confidence when you walk into the interview.Oliver also suggests the followingPlan your questions. Once you do a deep dive into the company, its easy to strategize on what your questions should be. Write them down and practice them.Work with another job-hunting buddy. Practice asking each other questions and flesh out your responses.The night before, get some good sleep. You will be able to think better on your feet.Know your goals.Feel like youre cut out for everything, anything, and nothing? Figuring out which of the multitude of opportunities out there best suit your objectives and abilities can be a daunting prospect, but a great investment. A sense of direction focuses efforts and m akes you a more passionate candidate.Have a game plan, says Roy Cohen, author of The Wall Street Professionals Survival Guide. Where do you want to be in 1, 3, 5, and 10 years and why?By having a strategy- one that can be modified to reflect changes in the market and in your thinking- you can extract maximum value from your initial experiences, and you will sound far smarter in terms of building a case for what you want to do and why you are qualified.Learn.Finally, realize that job hunting is a process, and you need to cut yourself some slack. As Oliver notes, Like any skill, you get better at it the more you do it.Find mentors and ask them questions. Read books on the importance of body language. Join industry associations that will improve your knowledge and boost your network. Strengthen your leadership skills while volunteering for a favorite cause.Viewing yourself as a continuous work in progress takes away much of the pressure to be perfect. And a commitment to ongoing improv ement not only impresses prospective employers, it shows that you grasped an important concept during your years in college- education does not end once a diploma is in hand.Browse All Open Flexible Jobs